Royal Mail to close its Smartstamp postal system

Royal Mail is stopping its Smartstamp system for small businesses leaving travel agents looking for alternate postal services.

Smartstamp was launched in 2003 for small to medium-sized businesses and allowed agents to print postage directly onto envelopes.

But the Royal Mail is replacing the system with various web applications when it closes Smartstamp on December 31.

It claims the new systems could lead to savings but agents argue that the replacement system prints large labels where the address has to be added which can be very time consuming.

Despite most correspondence being via email, travel agencies are still posting tickets to customers.

Royal Mail said the SmartStamp system was now running on outdated technology which was not compatible with Windows 10, Mac OSX and other operating systems in use.

A spokesman said: "We are supporting customer migration to one of our range of web applications such as Online Business Account, Online Postage or Click and Drop, which are more accessible and have better functionality across a range of platforms and devices.

"Customers will see no increase in the cost of postage as a result of the change and may see savings, depending on their usage.

"Over the next three months we will be working with all our customers that currently use SmartStamp to find a new solution which best meets their postage needs. Our customer services team is also available to help users: 03457 740740."

What system do you use to send mail? Will you miss this service? Click on post a comment below.